Kirsty Coventry was elected president of the International Olympic Committee on Thursday (20), ensuring victory in a vote held at a luxury resort by the southwest of the Peloponnese in Greece.
Zimbabwense needed only one round of voting to win the race and succeed German Thomas Bach, gaining a general majority in the vote – which is secret – to take command of the richest multisport organization in the world.
Coventry defeated British Sebastian Coe, Spaniard Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., Frenchman David Lapportient, Jordan prince, Swedish Johan Eliasch and Japanese Morinari Watanabe in the election where a much larger balance was expected.
As a new president of the IOC, Coventry will now have the task of conducting the Olympic movement to a new era, overseeing future games and addressing the main challenges, such as increased costs, geopolitical tensions and the evolving scenario of global sports governance.
